Lost Pages

As a child I used to hear the phrase, “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop”. It was a daily reminder that work is good for us! And yet, there is something in all of us that loves to eat, sleep and play. The BBC reported this month that a man in New Zealand recent quit his job to play Pokemon Go full-time. Tom Currie worked at a seaside restaurant, but has decided to pack it all in to find digital creatures on his phone instead. He says he is relying on friends and family to help him out. His story has gone viral and now he is very famous for quitting work and just playing Pokemon Go. Paul writing to the church at Ephesus reminds that rather than just stealing and Facebooking all day we must work: “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need” (Ephesians 4:28). Work according to Paul is “doing something useful with [our] own hands”. In other words, doing...

Earlier this year, the American musician Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson was summoned before a Judge in the US to explain his lifestyle. The reason for the Court summon is that last year 50 Cent filed for bankruptcy saying he couldn’t afford to pay debts of between $10m and $50m.  The only problem is that a cursory look at his Instagram feed reveals a very different impression of his life. In one photo, 50 Cent is photographed buried under $100 notes, presumably struggling to find his feet. In another photo he has stocked his refrigerator with bundles of dollars. This naturally baffled his creditors. How can 50 Cent claim to be bankrupt when his  Instagram profile shows that he is  drowning in money?